Water industry associations celebrate 40th anniversary of Clean Water Act

WASHINGTON — Representatives from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA) gathered in Washington, D.C. Monday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The representatives agreed that the CWA has led to vastly improved water quality and community and economic vitality in the United States, and discussed even greater financial, environmental, and sustainability challenges that lie ahead.

Although the organizations offered different perspectives, all agreed that there needs to be a new vision for clean water in the United States to ensure continued improvements through 2020 and beyond.

“We should be proud of the accomplishments we’ve made under the Clean Water Act,” said Ken Kirk, executive director of NACWA. “But to achieve the next level of water quality progress utilities need to be able to prioritize their efforts to achieve the greatest environmental return for the money invested. The federal government must also continue to be a full, long-term partner in meeting the growing costs of CWA compliance and infrastructure maintenance and repair.”